COMMENTS FROM CLASSICAL NOTES
The suite is in four movements and shows all the ingenuity and craftsmanship of its composer - most notably in the opening movement, Dedication, the opening theme of which is derived from notes representing the letters of Tertis' name. Gordon Jacob was celebrated as an authority on orchestration and instrumental technique, and doubtless relished the challenge of writing such varied and entetarining music for what would, at first glance, appear a very limited combination of instruments. But, to quote the critic William Mann, although "the bass line cannot descend further than the C below middle C…the limitation is barely perceived, so rich and multifarious are the textures available". No composer has been better equipped than Gordon Jacob to make the most of these textures - R G Bratby